Where their money went: A look at Ottawa city councillors’ spending

Carys Mills, Ottawa Citizen04.01.2014

Alta Vista Coun. Peter Hume spent $3,917 from his office budget on travel, making him the heaviest spender on travel. He points out he represents the city at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Board of Directors.Garth Gullekson
/ Ottawa Citizen

River Coun. Maria McRae spent the least on office staff, at only $31,274. She made up for it — a bit — with the amount she spent on “external services,” which includes hiring office assistance and consulting services.Garth Gullekson
/ Ottawa Citizen

Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley spent $59,702 on staff and external services. Hubley said that went toward contract employees who were specialized in areas such as communications.PAT McGRATH
/ THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

Coun. Shad Qadri had some costs tied to his Canada Day Senior’s Breakfast, a tradition he said he inherited.PAT McGRATH
/ THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

Coun. Peter Clark spent the least of his total budget.PAT McGRATH
/ THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

The councillor who spent the most on staffing in their office was Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury.Garth Gullekson
/ Ottawa Citizen

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney spent more than $42,300 from his office budget on communications with the people he represents.Garth Gullekson
/ Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA — Tasked with representing thousands of constituents, each of city council’s 24 members is given a budget to run their office.

Councillors were given $241,508 for their offices in 2013, while the mayor was given $796,000. This week, the city released the details of how each divvied up their resources. These numbers do not include councillors’ salaries.

From the amount spent in total, to decisions about how many parties to hold and how much in travel expenses to claim, spending varied widely.

Staff and external services

The councillor who spent the most on staffing in their office was Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury. He spent $215,386 of his budget on staff, who help work with constituents and city staff. Fleury was also spent the biggest part of his office budget overall, at a total of $240,984.

“For us, it’s a question of being able to offer the service,” Fleury said, adding he’s had the same four full-time staff since taking office.

River Coun. Maria McRae spent the least on office staff, at only $31,274. She made up for it — a bit — with the amount she spent on “external services,” which includes hiring office assistance and consulting services. Still, Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley spent more in that area, with a total of $59,702. Hubley said that went toward contract employees who were specialized in areas such as communications.

Events and hospitality

Councillors spent between $300 and $14,110 last year on special events, community receptions and hospitality. At the low end was Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Peter Clark. He only spent $164,192 of his budget overall, making him the politician to spend the least of his total budget. “I intentionally don’t spend much money at all,” Clark said.

On the other end of event spending, was Stittsville Coun. Shad Qadri. Some major costs were tied to his Canada Day Senior’s Breakfast, a tradition he said he inherited. “In terms of my community, they’re important events, to get together, to listen to their concerns,” said Qadri, adding he reduces costs by bringing his own equipment, including a cotton candy maker.

Donations, Sponsorships and Memberships

Coun. McRae donated the least out of any councillor. In total, her donations, sponsorships and memberships came in at $69, which was donated to the Ottawa Mission for its Feed the Hungry campaign.

Mayor Jim Watson was the only council member to donate or spend $0 in that category. Osgoode Coun. Doug Thompson, on the other hand, spent the most in that category, a total of $10,990. His donations went to causes including a high school graduation, Make A Wish Eastern Ontario, the Gloucester Fair and Metcalfe Skating Club. “That’s the way I operate,” Thompson said. “That’s what the community expects from me.”

City-related business travel

Several councillors spent nothing from their office budgets on travel related to city business. Alta Vista Coun. Peter Hume spent $3,917 from his office budget on travel, which was the highest out of all councillors. In an email, he pointed out that he represents the city at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Board of Directors. Councillors can also get funding from city departments for travel related to work for departments. Other politicians expensed train tickets, travel to a play and getting to various conferences.

Constituent communications and web services

More than $42,300 was spent by Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney from his office budget on communications with the people he represents. He said that was necessary last year, and more than anticipated, because of construction work that required more communication with residents. By comparison, Clark only spent $5,120.

Tierney said his ward naturally requires money be spent on bilingual print publication, because of aging and francophone populations. “That’s very important to my constituency,” he said, adding he promised during the last campaign to send newsletters three to four times annually.

Materials, office supplies and related services

Fleury only spent $512 last year in this category, which includes office and computer supplies and facility rentals. “We don’t print much, we all have iPads,” Fleury said.

Across the board, the amount varied widely, with the most being spent by McRae, whose budget went toward office furniture (she called it “life cycle replacement furniture”), IT and traffic speed boards. She spent $55,225.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.